Receiver for remote controlling a shutter of a camera

ABSTRACT

A remotely controlled photographic system embodying a camera mounted on a lifting member forming part of an adjustable tripod, the leg members of which are electrically connected through the lifting member to the input of a receiver also carried by the lifting member, the output of the receiver actuating a shutterrelease mechanism of the camera.

United States Patent [191 Nar'ita et al.

RECEIVER FOR REMOTE CONTROLLING A SHU'I'IER OF A CAMERA Inventors:Kenichi Narita, 3-4-4 Fuji-cho,

Hoya, Tokyo; Shiuji Yoshizawa, Toei-Tokyokaido-Daichijutaku- Minami102-2, Shimizu Oaza, Higashi-Yamoto, Tokyo, both of Japan Filed: Oct. 2,1972 Appl. No.: 294,155

7 l oreign Application Priority Data= Oct. 2, 1971 Japan 46-90406 June1, 1972 Japan 47-64957 US. Cl. 354/81, 95/1l R, 95/86,

95/53 E, 343/720 Int. Cl. G03b 17/56 Field of Search 95/ll R, 86, 12,11.5 A,

[451 Apr. 16, 1974 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,686,6728/1972 Ishizuka 95/53 E X 3,128,982 4/1964 Christopher 95186 X PrimaryExaminer-Robert P. Greiner ABSTRACT 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SHEET 2BF 4 PHIHHHW PATENTEUAPR 16 19M 7 3805281 sum 3 or 4 PATENTEDAPR 1a 1924SHEET t 0F 4 o@o moo@oo m U 0 U @YEFJ RECEIVER FOR REMOTE CONTROLLING ASHUTTER OF A CAMERA This invention relates to a receiver for remotecontrolling a shutter of a camera by means of a radio signal, whereinthe receiver is installed in the tripod to enable the user to carry suchreceiver together with the tripod, and the tripod is designed tofunction as an antenna to receive the radio signal.

A first and general object of the present invention is to provide areceiver for remote controlling a shutter of a camera by means of aradio signal, wherein the receiver is installed in the upper or lowerportion of a lifting member for adjusting the universal head of thetripod, the lifting member and the leg members of the tripod areelectrically connected to each other, so that each of the leg membersmay serve as an antenna to receive the radio signal.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a receiver forremote controlling a shutter of a camera by means of a radio signal,wherein a housing for the receiver is provided with an internal threadat its lower portion to receive an external thread extending verticallyupwardly from the fixture provided on the upper end of the liftingmember, and an external thread at its upper portion to screw it into theinternal thread provided in the lower portion of the universal-head, sothat the receiver may suitably be installed in the upper portion of thelifting member of the tripod.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a receiver forremote controlling a shutter of a camera by means of a radio signal,where a housing for the receiver is made from a metal and is designed tohave a cylindrical configuration, the upper portion of the housing isprovided with an internal thread to receive an external thread providedon the lower end of the lifting member of the tripod, an antennaconnecting terminal is provided with thehousin'g, leg members of thetripod and the lifting member being electrically connected to eachother, so that each of the leg members may serve as an antenna toreceive the radio signal.

The nature of the present invention will become more fully apparent froma consideration of the following exemplary embodiments thereof, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the receiver according tothe present invention, illustrating the manner in which the receiver isused;

FIG. 2 is a front view, partly in section, of the receiver according toone embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section of a shutter releasing means taken along the lineIII III of FIGS. 1 and 4;

FIG. 4 is a front view of another embodiment of the receiver accordingto the present invention, illustrating the manner in which the receiveris used; and

FIG. 5 is a partial section of the receiver according to FIG. 4.

In the drawings like reference numerals are designate like parts.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 3, in which one embodiment according to thepresent invention is shown, reference numeral 1 designates generally atripod and 7 a receiver. A housing 7' of the receiver 7 is provided atits base center portion with an internal thread 12 to receive anexternal thread 11 extending from a universalhead 4 upwardly coaxiallywith the axis of a lifting used to member 5 of the tripod 1, saidlifting member 5 passing through the bore of a tripod top 2 to whicheach of leg members 3 is connected. The housing 7' of the receiver 7 isfurther provided at its upper center portion with an external thread 14to be screwed into an internal thread 13 provided in the fixture 6' of auniversal-head 6. One side of the housing 7' is connected via aconductor 26 to a shutter releasing means 10 adapted to release ashutter 9 of a camera 8 by means of a signal generated from atransmitter.

An antenna-connecting terminal of the receiving circuit installed withinthe housing 7 is connected via a conductor 15 to a terminal 16 of thetripod l, of which the leg members 3 as well as the lifting member 5 aremade from an electro-conductive metal, so that the tripod l per se willfunction as an antenna. An insulating cap 17 is mounted on each end ofthe leg members 3 in order that they may be prevented from grounding.

The shutter releasing means 10 is composed of a solenoid and isconnected to the outside of the housing 7' by means of a conductor 26.As will be seen from FIG. 3, the shutter releasing means 10 is providedwith a construction which can be easily mounted on the external thread22 adapted to connect a cable release thereto of the camera 8, wherein alower end 21 of a cylindrical member 20 to pass an actuator 19 ofnonmagnetic substance therethrough, said actuator being a part of amovable core 18 in the solenoid, is designed to receive the externalthread 22 of the camera 8. Accordingly, when the electric current isapplied to a coil 24 within a yoke 23 from the receiver 7, the movablecore 18 will be moved downwardly simultaneously with such application ofthe electric current to release the shutter 9. A return spring 25 isinstalled so that the movable core 18 is forced back to its originalposition after the shutter 9 has been released.

Description as to in which manner the receiver 7 and the camera 8 arearranged relative to the tripod 1 according to one embodiment of thepresent invention referred to above will be as follows:

The receiver 7 is mounted on the universal-head fixture 4 of the tripodIthrough the cooperative engagement between the internal thread 12provided in the base portion of the housing 7' and the external thread11 extending upwardly from the universal-head fixture 4, the externalthread 14 extending upwardly from the housing 7 being received by theinternal thread 13 provided in the universal-head 6; the camera 8 ismounted on the universal-head 6 through the cooperative engagementbetween the external thread 27 provided rotatably in the universal-head6'and the internal thread (not shown) provided in the base portion ofthe camera 8.

The receiver 7, the camera 8, the tripod l and the shutter releasingmeans 10 mounted on the shutter release button 9 of the camera, whichare so arranged as specified above will thus be able to release theshutter 9 of the camera 8 by means of a radio signal generated from adistant transmitter.

As was referred to previously, the receiver 7 can be mounted on thetripod l and be a part thereof, and the tripod l per se is designed tofunction as an antenna, so that the receiver according to the presentinvention is advantageous in that it is very handy to carry, excludingthe necessity of provision of an independent antenna which willotherwise be a prerequisite instrument.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show another embodiment according to the presentinvention, wherein a receiver designated generally by a referencenumeral 28 is mounted on the lower end of .the lifting member 5 of thetripod.

In this embodiment, as is specifically shown in FIG. 5, a housing 29 ofthe receiver 28 is provided at its upper center portion with an internalthread 30 whilst the lower end of the lifting member 5 of the tripod 1is provided with an external thread 33 extending downwardly so that thehousing 29 may freely be mounted on the universal-head lifting member 5.The housing 29 is designed to present a slender cylindricalconfiguration so that it may not be a barrier to the smooth and neatfolding of the leg members 3 of the tripod 1, said housing being whollyor partially (i.e. only the upper end portion thereof in which theinternal thread 30 is formed) made from a metal.

Alternatively, the lower end of the housing 29 is provided with aninternal thread 35 thereby to allow the user to carry the tripodtogether with a transmitter 36 installed in a housing 37 of which theupper portion is provided with an external thread to be screwed into theinternal thread 35 of the housing 29.

The leg members 3, the tripod top 2 and the lifting member 5 of thetripod l are made from an electroconductive metal, all of said membersbeing designed to electrically connect to each other, and each end ofsaid leg members 3 being covered by the insulating cap 17 in order toprevent them from being grounded.

Within the housing 29 of the receiver 28, there are provided areceiving-circuit substrate 41 and dry cells 42, an insulating member 43being arranged so as to prevent both the substrate 41 and the dry cells42 from being contacted by the metal portion of the housing 29.

An antenna-connecting terminal 44 of the receivingcircuit substrate 41is connected to the metal portion of the housing 29, said terminal 44being further connected electrically, via the lifting member 5 on whichsaid housing 29 is mounted, to each of the leg members 3.

An output terminal 45 of the receiving-circuit substrate 41 is connectedvia the conductor 26 to the coil 24 of the shutter releasing means 10.

The housing 37 of the transmitter 36 is equipped at its exterior surfacewith a shutter releasing switch 47 whilst within interior thereofequipped with a transmitting-circuit substrate and a dry cell which areemployed to generate a radio-frequency signal to release the shutter ofa camera, a conductor of a prescribed length which is to be atransmitting antenna being connected to the antenna terminal of saidtransmitting-circuit substrate, said conductor (not shown) beingextended to the exterior of said housing 37.

As was fully described, the receiver according to the present inventionis capable of releasing the shutter of a camera by means of a radiosignal. It does not require an independent antenna which will otherwisebe a prerequisite instrument to receive the radio signal, because theleg members of the tripod are designed to function as the antenna. Itcan easily be mounted on the tripod and be a part thereof, so that theuser may carry the receiver together with the tripod without anydifficulties.

While the foregoing description sets forth the principles of theinvention in connection with specific embodiments, it is to beunderstood that the description is made only by way of example and notas a limitation of the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A remotely controlled photographing system comprising a tripod havinga vertically adjustable lifting member, a receiver adapted to receive aradio signal generated by a transmitter and mounted to said liftingmember, said receiver having an input terminal and an output terminal,the leg members of said tripod being electrically connected through saidlifting member to the input terminal of said receiver and therebyserving as an antenna, a camera mounted on said lifting member, meansassociated with said camera for releasing the camera shutter, and anelectrical connection from the output terminal of said receiver to saidshutterreleasing means, whereby, upon reception through said leg-memberantenna by said receiver of a radio signal generated by saidtransmitter, said shutter-releasing means is actuated.

2. A remotely controlled photographing system comprising a tripod havinga vertically adjustable lifting member, a receiver adapted to receive aradio signal generated by a transmitter and mounted to the lower end ofsaid lifting member, said receiving having an input terminal and anoutput terminal, the leg members of said tripod being electricallyconnected through said lifting member to the input terminal of saidreceiver and thereby serving as an antenna, a camera mounted on saidlifting member, means associated with said camera for releasing thecamera shutter, and an electrical connection from the output terminal ofsaid receiver to said shutter-releasing means, whereby, upon receptionthrough said leg-member antenna by said receiver of a radio signalgenerated by said transmitter, said shutter-releasing means is actuated.

3. A photographing system, according to claim 2, in which one of saidlifting member and said receiver is provided with an externally threadedportion and the other with a cooperating internally threaded portion,whereby said receiver can be threadedly mounted on said lifting member.

4. A photographing system, according to claim 3, which includes meansassociated with said receiver to enable the transmitter to be detachablymounted on said receiver when said transmitter is not in use.

1. A remotely controlled photographing system comprising a tripod havinga vertically adjustable lifting member, a receiver adapted to receive aradio signal generated by a transmitter and mounted to said liftingmember, said receiver having an input terminal and an output terminal,the leg members of said tripod being electrically connected through saidlifting member to the input terminal of said receiver and therebyserving as an antenna, a camera mounted on said lifting member, meansassociated with said camera for releasing the camera shutter, and anelectrical connection from the output terminal of said receiver to saidshutter-releasing means, whereby, upon reception through said leg-memberantenna by said receiver of a radio signal generatEd by saidtransmitter, said shutter-releasing means is actuated.
 2. A remotelycontrolled photographing system comprising a tripod having a verticallyadjustable lifting member, a receiver adapted to receive a radio signalgenerated by a transmitter and mounted to the lower end of said liftingmember, said receiving having an input terminal and an output terminal,the leg members of said tripod being electrically connected through saidlifting member to the input terminal of said receiver and therebyserving as an antenna, a camera mounted on said lifting member, meansassociated with said camera for releasing the camera shutter, and anelectrical connection from the output terminal of said receiver to saidshutter-releasing means, whereby, upon reception through said leg-memberantenna by said receiver of a radio signal generated by saidtransmitter, said shutter-releasing means is actuated.
 3. Aphotographing system, according to claim 2, in which one of said liftingmember and said receiver is provided with an externally threaded portionand the other with a cooperating internally threaded portion, wherebysaid receiver can be threadedly mounted on said lifting member.
 4. Aphotographing system, according to claim 3, which includes meansassociated with said receiver to enable the transmitter to be detachablymounted on said receiver when said transmitter is not in use.